Justice for all - oneshot
by livviwooo
Summary: When Hermione Granger decided to give evidence for a certain Malfoy in court, it turned out being the best thing she'd ever done. Fluffy one shot for: MemoirsofaLostCause for winning my fan comp!


**OK SO**

**MemoirsofaLostCause; here's your oneshot!**

**Hope I got it ok, it's bit fluffy at the end tbh but we all like fluff!  
Enjoy, if you like, review :) **

**xo**

* * *

One shot; Justice for all.

"I can't believe you would even think about doing it. What has that little ferret ever done for you?!" Ron cried, throwing up his hands in dismay as Hermione put her head in hers and sat at the kitchen table.

"It's not about doing things for Malfoy Ron, it's about justice, making sure the right people get sentenced for the right crimes and you know that." She snapped angrily.

"Justice? Hermione how can you talk about justice when he tortured you for years, how is it right that you should save his arse when you know Azkaban is where that son of a banshee deserves."

"Oh really? Tell me Ron, how does some minor teasing and a few jinxes equate to a life sentence in Azkaban?" She roared, slamming her palms down on the table as Molly Weasley hastily evacuated the room.

"He could have a cell beside his mangy father." Ron spat as it came to be Hermione's turn to throw her hands up in despair.

"I can't believe you're being this imbecilic. If you won't testify you have to accept that I will." Ron folded his arms, as though he was considering the statement and whether he approved.

"No. Hermione I won't, I can't support this decision."

With a sigh, she stood and grabbed her bag and coat from the back of her chair.

"Well then, it looks like your mind is made up, and so is mine." He looked on at her in dismay, unused to her standing up for herself with such ferocity.

"Wha?! You're actually going?" He spluttered as she wound her scarf around her neck and shrugged.

"Yes Ron, I am. It may surprise you to know that all of my decisions do not need to be approved by you."

It did surprise him.

And he watched her go with an open mouth and a broken heart.

LINEEEEEE BREAKKKKKK

"Court be rise." The official barked as Hermione entered.

She was dressed in her best plain pencil skirt, her hair wound in a sensible bun with light make up accentuating her features and hiding some of her nerves.

"Miss Hermione Granger, you stand before the bench giving evidence for Mr Draco Malfoy, and Ms Narcissa Malfoy. You are giving evidence for the defence. Is this true?" The official snapped, and for a moment, Hermione felt trapped.

Like a rabbit caught in the headlights, she froze, completely forgetting everything the defence minister had discussed with her in earlier meetings.

What was she even doing here?!

She looked up to the council, the hundreds of expectant faces watching her as time seemed to slow.

And then she spotted him.

In all honesty, she hadn't actually paid much thought to the notion that she'd be seeing him for the first time since

Well since she was tortured in his own home.

She almost gasped at his tortured eyes, the way he held his mother's hand even though she was gaunt and unresponsive even before the council.

His hair was messier than she remembered it, she'd always thought of him as the perfectly preened Malfoy heir, not the terrified young man trying to hold up his own mother while he faced a sentence in Azkaban.

He looked at her, only for a second, and instead of the usual blazing hatred that had caused her to cower, look away as his liquid silver eyes burned into her own.

All she saw was terror.

He was afraid. He, his mother, they could both be facing a sentence neither deserved.

They would have to endure the most horrific torture imaginable, living through the horror that was the prison in the middle of the ocean.

But most of all, he was sad.

Everything he'd believed in, everything he'd ever trusted, had faith in was gone.

His father had been administered the Dementors kiss, his mother was a shell of her former self and had practically begun to waste away.

And even after all that, he wasn't left alone.

His life was constantly in the public eye, the last Malfoy to go bad, the young corrupted heir.

And that was when Hermione remembered why she was there.

She remembered fighting with Ron for hours, until eventually they'd reached an impasse and she'd left.

It had all been for this.

"Yes your honour." She choked, pushing her shoulders back as she faced the council with pride.

Throughout the entire trial, amongst the questions about the war, whether she'd seen Draco or his mother joining the fray, whether she knew him to practise the dark arts.

She answered them all as planned, and even combatted the prosecution's heavy questioning as she stood her ground.

It was only when the unexpected questions about the manor came that Hermione faltered.

She found herself scratching at the scar engraved on her wrist, and came close to tears at one point when she was sure she couldn't go on.

Not anymore.

Not when they were making her remember all the events she'd locked away in her mind for as long as she possibly could.

It was only when she'd looked up, through the glistening tears forming in her lids waiting to be spilled, and saw the liquid silver.

He was watching her, and as Hermione looked a little closer, she could see the appraisal, almost encouragement raging away in his mind.

As he watched her, the slightest shadow of a smile echoed on his lips as he nodded, a minute movement, almost undetectable.

She straightened her back, looked up bravely and wiped the unshed tears from her eyes with strength.

She could do this.

As the court room stood once more and Harry made his way down from the stands, he smiled encouragingly at Hermione, giving her a little wink as he made his way down to the witness stand.

By the time Harry was halfway through his questioning, the case was already won.

* * *

Hermione breathed for what felt like the first time in hours as she stepped out of courtroom 3, her heart rate slowing slightly as she leant against the wall, in desperate need of a coffee.

"Hermione! You were fantastic!" Ginny squealed, rushing out of the courtroom in an extremely unprofessional manner as she flung her arms around her best friend.

"Thanks Gin." Hermione laughed, relieved, into the redhead's sleek hair as she hugged her tightly.

"I didn't know they had you down here for the case as well, have they brought down lots of people from the rogue spells unit?"

Ginny pulled back and shook her head, leaning against the wall beside Hermione as she smiled.

"Nope, just select few, think I might be up for a promotion Mione! Isn't it great? You know I've always wanted to be one of those bigwigs who gets to take care of those spells that vaporise muggles."

Hermione laughed again as her best friend giggled and rambled on about something to do with a disappearing portaloo.

She was only half paying attention, but lost her focus even more when she spotted a familiar blonde head exiting the courtroom, arm in arm with a frail but beautiful woman.

Time seemed to slow as he passed, and Hermione's lips quirked as she noticed the wide grin spread across his face as he kissed his mother's cheek.

The first smile she'd seen from him in a long time.

He hugged the woman tight as she laughed and ruffled his hair.

Hermione suddenly felt as though she was almost intruding on the touching family scene, even if she had helped them win the case.

She straightened up, made her excuses to Ginny before grabbing her brief case and hurrying off down the corridor.

"GRANGER!" Someone called out from behind her, and Hermione felt her heart leap into her throat, he couldn't seriously be considering humiliating her now, after all she'd done?

She turned slowly, apprehensively, and was surprised to see him standing just a few feet away, still smiling slightly as he nodded towards her.

"Thank you. Thank you for, well everything." He conceded, and Hermione smiled wider than she had in a very long time.

* * *

Icicles dangled dramatically low from the thatched roofs of the bustling Diagon Alley.

Hermione Granger tried to keep a hand on all of her bags as she scoured the shops for the last minute Christmas presents she always seemed to forget.

"Excuse me Miss." A poor laden house elf called out as he squeezed past Hermione, sending her flying.

She stumbled backwards, before tripping over a discarded rememberall, and skidding her foot on a patch of ice.

"Whoa there, careful the ice around here is murder." A gentle, warm voice like runny honey murmured in Hermione's ear as she felt herself being hoisted up by a pair of strong, muscular arms.

"Oh my goodness I'm so sorry, I mean thank you, I mean" She was cut off when she turned around and got a look at her knight in shining armour, or an inky black trench coat.

Draco Malfoy looked at her bemusedly as he handed over the two bags she'd lost in her fall, and winked.

"Hermione Granger, lost for words, never thought I'd see the day." She blushed, accepting the bags with a smile as she tried to remember the last time she'd seen him.

It must have been almost three years.

"Well, good lord what's it been now, three years?" Draco exclaimed, rubbing his forehead as he tried to recall as Hermione nodded.

"Sounds about right, how are things going? I heard you got married?"

Draco opened his mouth to answer before being shoved aside by a particularly moody Goblin.

"This isn't exactly the best place to chat, fancy a butterbeer?" He smiled, taking a few of her bags (much to Hermione's protest) as he headed towards the Leaky Cauldron.

They entered the bustling pub, the warm air hitting them like a wall the moment they got in.

"That sure takes the edge off." Draco remarked as Hermione removed her coat and scarf.

He picked them out a table, and went to order drinks as Hermione tried to recall how on earth she'd gotten herself into such a situation.

"Drinks are ordered, now, where were we?" He smiled, taking the seat opposite as Hermione collected her thoughts.

"Oh yes, you were about to tell me about your marriage, with Astoria Greengrass I believe?" Hermione asked with a small smile as Draco sighed.

"Didn't go so well, to put it lightly. We were to be betrothed, but Astoria broke it off soon after my mother began seeing a doctor about her depression. I think her exact words were: "I can't be burdened with such embarrassing family issues."" Hermione's mouth dropped open in surprise as she evaluated all the information she'd just received.

"You're kidding? She actually said that?!"

Draco nodded, smiling quickly as he accepted the drinks from the waitress and passed one to Hermione.

She couldn't help but notice the way he always flashed his teeth and his eyes crinkled up whenever he smiled.

"I couldn't get rid of her fast enough after that." He replied as Hermione decided not to pursue the subject of his mother, deeming it inappropriate.

"So, what about you? Whatever happened to the Weasel and Bookworm, dream couple?" He teased as Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Oh that ended a long time ago, we had a huge fight and it was a mutual agreement really. Must have been around three years back? Around the time of the trial." She explained, before biting her tongue at the mention of that day.

Draco looked at her quizzically for a minute, before putting two and two together.

"You, you weren't arguing about the trial were you?" He enquired as Hermione looked away.

"We had a difference of opinion." Hermione muttered into her butterbeer as Draco rolled his eyes, making the educated decision not to pursue that subject.

"Well if it's any consolation, I always thought you were far too good for that idiot." He grinned as Hermione chuckled lightly.

"Oh really? And what gave you that impression?"

Their conversation carried on that way for the next few hours, with each sharing an amusing work story, a laugh about their past.

It was one of the nicest evenings Hermione had had in months, and she'd spent it with Draco Malfoy.

It was almost nine before the pair realised just how long they'd been talking, and Hermione began to gather her things.

Draco was still laughing about some muggle idiom as he helped Hermione with her coat.

He picked up her old, battered scarf from her seat before dropping it as though he'd suddenly remembered something.

"I nearly forgot!" He grinned, picking up one of his own bags from underneath the table and retrieving a square, black box with a simple silver tag attached.

He passed it to her and winked.

"Merry Christmas Granger."

She gaped at him in disbelief as he nodded at the parcel.

"Well, open it now, I want to see your face." He teased as Hermione threw him a look.

"How did you know to get me anything anyway?" She chuckled as she pulled at the ribbon around the box.

He shrugged.

"I was shopping today, saw this and thought of you. I honestly wasn't sure if I'd even see you, ever again in fact. I suppose it was just a stroke of luck."

Hermione gasped as she pulled away the silver tissue paper, to reveal a beautiful woollen scarf.

It was patchwork, wonderfully whimsical but somehow refined, and the blue and purple hues went perfectly with her skin tone and eyes.

"It's beautiful." She breathed, stroking the soft material as Draco laughed.

"Well I'm glad you like it, here let me." He gestured, picking up the scarf as he wound it around her neck delicately.

"Oh look, a perfect fit." He teased as Hermione smiled.

"I didn't get you anything, I really hope you don't mind." She sighed, realising that she wouldn't be able to get anything for him at half nine of Christmas Eve.

"Well, the night's still young Granger, anything's possible." He teased as she raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?"

"Ah, don't worry little Gryffindor. Do you need help with your bags?"

He insisted on helping her with her things to the door, and when they stepped outside into the freezing cold she shivered and wrapped her scarf tighter around her neck.

"Looks like it's time for my Christmas present." Draco winked, as he bent his head towards her, kissing her softly as the first snowfall of the winter so far began to dowse their hair in little white flakes.

They pulled apart, and he looked into her eyes, molten silver meeting chocolate brown, and he smiled.

"Merry Christmas Granger." He grinned, pulling apart as she collected her things, and her thoughts.

"Will I see you again?" She called out as he turned around to wave goodbye.

"I should think so Granger, it's only justice."

* * *

**Nawww well I liked writing it ;) **

**Hope you enjoyed!**

**Oneshot 1/5, stay tuned for the others !**


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